Tie spacing device



April 17, 1934- F. J. JAKOUBEK 1,955,548

TIE SPACING DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1932 I I 22 /9 W L i I l ii I. -1

Fatented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES TIE SPAOING DEVICE Frank J. Jakoubek, Elmwood Park, 111., assignor to Templeton, Kenly & (10.,Limited, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December27, 1932, Serial No. 648,929

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tie spacing devices and itconsists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

The tie spacing devi e with which my invention is more particularlyconcerned, is of the kind illustrated in the Graham and Young patent, N0. 1,836,753, of December 15, 1931, and which includes a tie engaginglever and a rail engaging member providing a fulcrum for said lever.

In said patent, the rail engaging or gripping member is of an invertedU-shaped structure and one side arm thereof carries a laterallyextending spindle and the other side arm thereof is made with anintegral hook-like lip or lug adapted to engage with the lower face ofthe head or ball of the rail when said member is tilted in the directionof the rail into gripping relation therewith.

It is well known that the rails employed in railroad tracks are ofdifferent sizes, according to the kind and amount of traffic thereon.Where heavy loads are hauled, the rails have a greater cross sectionaldimension and these are manifested 5 in height of rail, width of baseand depth of head or ball.

With a structure such as shown in said beforementioned patent, a numberof different sized devices must be included in the track equipment ofthe maintenance crews of the railroads, to be operative upon thedifferent size rails which may be embodied in track. This increases thecost of track maintenance as it requires the carrying of severaldifferent sizes of devices in stock.

One of the objects of the present invention is to improve theconstruction of such a tie spacing device whereby the device may beemployed upon rails of all standard sizes and, therefore, the number ofsuch devices required to be carried, may be considerably reduced, with aresulting proportionate saving.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the rail engagingmember of the device that it may be readily adapted for use inconnection with rails havmg heads or balls of different perpendiculardimensions.

Still another object of the invention is to so form the rail engagingmember that it will receive any one of a number of different sizes ofgripping jaws or blocks so that the device may be readily fitted to therail upon which it is to be used.

Still a further object of the invention is to so form the rail engagingmember and jaw that the jaw may be readily removed therefrom and adifferent sized one substituted in its stead to meet the conditions athand.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, as well as others,together with the many advantages thereof, will more fully appear as Iproceed with my s aecification.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a view in end elevation of my improved tie spacing device inoperative relation with respect to an associated rail and tie.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the same and illustrates in dottedlines the position of the parts when spacing or shifting a tie.

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the rail engaging member of thedevice on an enlarged scale, a portion of the same being shown as brokenaway and in section to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of a number of gripping jaws orblocks which may be applied to the rail engaging member.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the position of the rail headengaging shoulder or ledge of different gripping jaws whereby the device may be used upon a rail of any of the standard cross sections tomake the device one of universal application.

In general, my improved tie spacing device includes a lever-like tieengaging member and a rail engaging member. The rail engaging member,which is also provided with a tilting or canting lever, is substantiallyof an inverted U-shape. Said member includes side arms of differentlengths, the longer arm carrying a laterally extending fulcrum spindleor stub shaft for the tie engaging member and the shorter arm beingformed to receive rail head or ball engaging jaws or blocks of difierentsizes, according to the size of the rail upon which the device is to beused. Preferably, said shorter arm is formed in its inner face with alongitudinal groove providing opposed shoulders and each jaw that isused with the rail engaging member has a rib to engage in said grooveand be secured therein as by a bolt extending through said arm and intosaid jaw. By removing the bolt, the jaw may be removed and another ofthe proper size substituted in its stead.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustratedin the accompanying drawing, 1 indicates as a whole, the rail engagingmember of the device and 2 indicates the tie engaging member of thesame. The rail engaging member is substantially of an inverted U-shapeand includes laterally spaced, long and short side arms 3 and 4respectively, and a connecting top member 5, the latter being suitablyformed to receive a lever-like handle 6.

The long arm 3 includes a spindle or stub shaft '7 near its bottom endand which spindle or stub shaft extends laterally in a directionoutwardly away from the short arm 4. In the inner face of said short armis formed a longitudinally extending groove 8 and on the outer face ofsaid short arm, centrally disposed with respect to said groove is a boss9. An opening 10 is arranged in said arm between said boss and groove.

11 indicates a gripping jaw in the form of a substantially L-shapedblock fitting the inner face of the short arm 4 and having alongitudinal rib 12 along one side adapted to snugly fit in the groove8. Along the bottom of the other side of said jaw is an inwardlyextending ledge 13. The top face of said ledge is arranged at an angleto the horizontal corresponding to the angle of the bottom face of arail head and which angle is substantially constant and standard inrails of all sizes. Extending laterally through said jaw, is a screwthreaded opening 14.

The jaw 11 may be inserted endwise in place in said short arm with itsrib engaged in the groove, after which a bolt 15 is passed through theopening 10 in said arm to engage in the opening 14 in the jaw. When thebolt is drawn up tight, the jaw is securely held in place.

The tie engaging member 2 is in the form of a lever of the first classand. includes a body 16 having a bearing hub or sleeve on its inner facefor an engagement on the spindle or stub shaft 8 on the rail engagingmember. When said body is so mounted on said stub, it is held againstmovement by a washer and nut 17.

The top or power end of said body is formed to receive a lever 18 andthe bottom or load arm and tie engaging end 19 of said member is formedwith a somewhat rounded head to engage a tie.

In applying the spacer as a whole to a rail 20, it is so applied fromthe short arm side which is hooked over the rail and with the levers 6and 18 arranged in the same perpendicular plane. By grasping said leversand imparting opposite movements thereto in the direction of the rail,the rail engaging member is slightly canted so that the shoulder orledge 13 engages with a non-slipping grip against the underside of thehead or ball 21 of a rail. In said movement the load arm end of the tieengaging member engages the tie 22 and moves the same in the desireddirection with respect to the rail, as is best shown in dotted lines inFig. 2. If desired to get a new bite or grip on the rail, the levers 6and 18 are brought back into the position shown in Fig. 2 and the wholedevice is shifted along the rail toward the tie when the operationproceeds, as before described.

It is well known that different railroads employ different sizes ofrails in their track and a certain road may use different sizes of railsin different portions of its track, in accordance with the trafficthereover. Thus, if a maintenance crew works upon a track using arelatively light rail, the jaw 11 is removed and a new one substitutedin its place wherein the ledge is arranged closer to the top of the jaw.This difference in height of the ledges in different jaws, as well aswidth of said jaws, is best illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Ifthe duties of the maintenance crew then take them to another sectionwherein heavier rails are employed in track, it is not necessary tocarry along all sizes of tie spacers. When the field of new operationsis reached and with the size of rail known, the jaw block 11 is removedfrom the short arm 4 and another one, to fit the heavier rail, issubstituted therefor. This may be quickly done by first removing thebolt 15, taking out the old block 11, replacing another one of thedesired size and reapplying the bolt.

Again, if a jaw becomes broken or battered after long use, it is notnecessary to replace the entire rail engaging member by a new one. Allthat is necessary is to remove the broken or battered jaw and substitutea new one. It is apparent that replacement of a jaw is not as expensiveas the replacement of a rail engaging member as a whole, so that amaterial saving is had in this respect. Again, with my improvedconstruction, the maintenance crew need not carry with them a specialsize tie spacing device for each size of rail found in their section.Thus, tool cost and carrying cost are reduced.

It is apparent that in the tilting or canting of the rail engagingmember into gripping engagement on the rail a heavy shearing strainwould be imposed upon the bolt if it were not for the interengaginggroove and rib arrangement described. Thus, said rib not only removesthe shearing strains from said bolt, but it also holds the jaw againstany tipping or rocking about said bolt as an axis.

While in describing my invention, I have referred in detail to the form,arrangement and construction of the various parts thereof, the same isto be considered in an illustrative sense only, so that I donot wish tobe limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tie spacing device embodying therein a rail engaging memberincluding laterally spaced side arms, means for pivotally mounting a tieengaging member on one of said side arms, a rail head engaging memberassociated with the other arm, said rail head engaging member and saidother arm being formed with interengaging groove and rib constructionarranged parallel with said rail, and means for removably securing saidrail head engaging member in operative relation with respect to saidother arm.

2. A tie spacing device embodying therein a rail engaging memberincluding laterally spaced side arms, a tie engaging member fulcrumed onone of said side arms, a jaw element including a shoulder along one sidethereof for engaging the underside of the head of said rail, meansproviding interengaging groove and rib on the other side of said elementand the inner face of said other side arm respectively, arranged in thedirection of the rail, and means for removably securing said jaw andother side arm together in operative relation.

3. A tie spacing device embodying therein a rail engaging memberincluding laterally spaced side arms, a tie engaging member fulcrumed onone of said side arms, a jaw element including a shoulder along one sidethereof for engaging the widerside of the head of said rail, and a ribon the other side arranged parallel with said shoulder for engagement ina groove provided in the inner side of said other side arm and a boltextendingthrough said other side arm from the outside thereof andoperatively engaging with said jaw.

4. In a tie spacing device, a rail head engaging jaw having a shoulderalong one side adapted for engagement with the bottom of one side ofsaid rail head and having a rib on the other side and parallel with saidshoulder, there being a transverse, centrally arranged hole in said jawand opening through said rib at the middle thereof.

FRANK J. JAKOUBEK.

